Celebrity sex tape

A celebrity sex tape is typically an amateur pornographic video recording involving one or more famous people which has, intentionally or unintentionally, been made available publicly. Such videos have often been released without the consent of their subjects, and have damaged celebrities' careers. In 1988, for example, a sex tape caused significant damage to Rob Lowe's career.[1]

The surfacing of sex tapes has become so common that some are "leaked" as a marketing tool to advance or establish a media career.[1] A celebrity can fight the release in court to maintain deniability while still enjoying the career benefits. In contrast, a celebrity may take the route of openly releasing the tape and benefit directly from royalties as well as indirectly from the publicity. The current public acceptance of celebrities with sex tapes is speculated by Joe Levy, executive editor of Rolling Stone, to be due to the easy availability of pornography, as well as couples more commonly making their own tapes due to the prevalence of video cameras.[1]

Farrah Abraham, the former Teen Mom star, had a pornographic film released by Vivid Entertainment in May 2013 that was marketed as a sex tape.[2] The video featured her having sex with porn star James Deen which she legally sold to Vivid reportedly for $1.5 million. Abraham defended her decision to make the video claiming that she wanted to "celebrate [her] awesome body".[3]

Dane Bowers, singer with English pop group Another Level, made a video of himself having sex with his glamour model girlfriend Katie Price, which was stolen from their flat in 1999 and became one of the UK's most popular celebrity sex tapes.[9]

Chu Mei-feng had a 47-minute video CD secretly taken with a pinhole camera, released by a local paparazzi magazine in December 2001. The video showed Chu having sex with Tseng Chung-ming, who was later confirmed as a married man. Despite local authorities' immediate effort to pull all the magazines in question from the market, the video quickly spread via the Internet. In January 2002, search engine Lycos reported that her name was among the most searched terms.[10]

Chua Soi Lek, while serving as Malaysia's Health Minister, was secretly videotaped having sex.[11] Two resulting DVDs were distributed freely and anonymously to various homes in Batu Pahat. On 2 January 2008, Chua announced his resignation, despite saying he would not do so the previous day.[11]

Tulisa Contostavlos is a British singer/actress and during her time on talent show The X Factor, on which she was a judge, a tape was released that showed her giving oral sex to her ex-boyfriend, rapper Justin Edwards, also known as MC Ultra. Contostavlos accused MC Ultra of releasing the tape, but he denied it.[13] She also got her lawyers to take it off the internet and released a YouTube video to put 'her side of the story' across to the public.[14]

Fred Durst, the frontman for the band Limp Bizkit, had a video of him and an unknown woman having sex leaked onto the internet by a repairman who had been repairing his computer.[15] He later sued the website Gawker and nine others for $70 million for publishing it.[16]

Amy Fisher, the infamous "Long Island Lolita", who in 1992, at the age of 17, had shot and seriously injured the wife of her then 36-year-old lover Joey Buttafuoco, in 2007, made a number of sex tapes with her husband Louis Bellera.[18] In late 2007, nude pictures of Fisher appeared on the internet, followed shortly by several of the videos. Subsequently, at the age of 33, Fisher started her own porn site, released a pay-per-view adult film titled Amy Fisher: Caught On Tape, and commenced to tour the United States as a stripper.[19]

Katrina Halili was one of three principals associated with the so-called "Hayden Camera" controversy, where in May 2009, videos were leaked that revealed sexual encounters between Halili and Dr. Hayden Kho, and which were distributed over the Internet without her consent.[20]

Tonya Harding and her then husband Jeff Gillooly had a sex tape that was copied and marketed exclusively by Penthouse. The couple decided to release it legitimately on their own. It was commercially sold by Penthouse Home Video as the "Wedding Night" tape, even though the wedding gown was actually a Halloween costume.[4] It later leaked onto the internet.

Chelsea Handler had a tape released that alternates between Handler performing standup comedy and having sex with a man.[21]

Paris Hilton and then-boyfriend Rick Salomon recorded themselves having sex in a hotel room, shot in night vision. Hilton initially attempted to stop the distribution of the tape, but she now receives profits from the distribution of the video.[1] This footage, along with additional full-color footage, was released commercially under the title 1 Night in Paris.[4]

Vietnamese television star Hoàng Thùy Linh lost her job on a TV series after a video of the 19-year-old having sex with her boyfriend was released on the internet.[23]

Hulk Hogan, professional wrestler, and radio host Bubba the Love Sponge's ex-wife Heather Clem Cole were seen in a grainy video that surfaced early in 2012.[24] Hogan sued Gawker for $100 million for defamation, loss of privacy, and emotional pain due to the release of the tape,[25] and on March 18, 2016, was awarded $115 million.[26][27]

Nazril Irham, an Indonesian pop star known as 'Ariel' was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in January 2011 for appearing in two sex videos circulating on the internet.[28] TV presenter Luna Maya and soap opera star Cut Tari initially denied being the women in the videos.[29] The videos prompted an outpouring of criticism from conservative Muslims.[29] Under a controversial anti-pornography law that came into effect in Indonesia in 2008,[29] defendants can face up to twelve years in prison, even if the court determines they never intended the videos to be leaked to the public.[30] The video would have been resulted in his prosecution under a law banning adultery,[31] owing to Cut Tari having been married at the time the video was made in 2006.[32]

Kim Kardashian made a sex tape with her then boyfriend Ray J in 2003, that was leaked in 2007. She threatened to take legal action to block its planned distribution by Vivid Video. Her sex tape bolstered her career when E! made her and her family the focus of a reality tv show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.[33]

Jayne Kennedy, a former sportscaster and blaxploitation actress, had a sex tape stolen and released showing her with former husband Leon Isaac Kennedy.[4]

Chyna – Former professional wrestler, Joanie Laurer, made her adult film debut with the 2004 video 1 Night in China. Laurer and Sean Waltman approached Red Light District Video to distribute the homemade video. She then appeared in her second video entitled Another Night in China in 2009. In 2011, Laurer starred in her first professional pornographic film for Vivid Video entitled Backdoor to Chyna."[34] She also starred for Vivid as She-Hulk in their parody of The Avengers," released in May 2012.[35] A spinoff feature centered around the She-Hulk character and titled She-Hulk XXX was released to video in April 2013.[36][37]

John Leslie, former presenter of British television shows Blue Peter and This Morning, made a home video of himself receiving oral sex from his nurse girlfriend Abi Titmuss in 2000. He also filmed Titmuss performing and receiving oral sex with another woman. The video became widely distributed in 2004 under the title "Titmuss Out for the Lads."[38] Leslie coincidentally shares the same name with a deceased well-known porn film actor and director.

Rob Lowe faced controversy in the 1980s from having taped himself having sex with two young women he met at an Atlanta night club.[41] After the tape was released, Lowe's career rebounded, with the actor spoofing the tapes during an appearance on Saturday Night Live.[1]

A pornographic video tape of Mindy McCready and an ex-boyfriend referred to as "Peter"[42] went on sale by Vivid Entertainment on 19 April 2010.[43] McCready claimed the video was stolen from her home three years ago.[44][not in citation given]

Olivia Mojica, a contestant on season two of American Idol, recorded a sex tape with then-boyfriend Adam Roberts in early 2007. It was released by Vivid Video in May of that year under the title "Olivia Mojica: Hardcore Idol."[45]

Carolyn Murphy's ex-husband Jake Schroeder allegedly tried to sell a tape featuring them having sex during their honeymoon in 1999 while in Barbados.[46] In January 2006, Schroeder was arrested and charged with extortion for trying to sell the tape.[47] The video was leaked onto the internet in April 2006.[48]

Nicole Narain and Colin Farrell have a 13-minute sex tape, recorded in 2003.[1] Farrell confirmed the existence of the tape and obtained a court order blocking its distribution, but copies of the tape nevertheless appeared on the internet in January 2006.[1]

Vince Neil made a sex tape in 1993 with porn star Janine Lindemulder and actress/former Penthouse Pet Brandy Ledford (who was mosaically-obscured) which was leaked and eventually released by the same company that distributed the by-then infamous sex video made by Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.[49][50]

Noelia. In June 2007, a sex tape of Puerto Rican singer Noelia and her former boyfriend started circulating on the Internet.[51]

Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen, best known as Tila Tequila. Two sex tapes featuring Tequila were rumoured to exist as early as 2010.[52] In 2011, Vivid Entertainment released a video of Tequila engaging in sexual acts with pornographic actresses Kristina Rose and Charlie Laine.[53] Tequila stated that the video was made for personal use and she did not consent to its release.[54] In December 2013, another sex-tape was announced, this time of Tequila and "an ex-boyfriend."[55] It was released as a Vivid Video download in mid January 2014.[56]

Belén Rodríguez, in 2011, a sex tape featuring Belén and Tobias Blanco, her former boyfriend, was posted on the internet.[57][58]

Kate Ritchie, in 2000 a sex tape of Australian TV soapie star Kate Ritchie and her ex-boyfriend was released on VHS tape in Australian sex shops. Rumours had been floating around since July the previous year of the tape's existence. The tape features 14 minutes of high action activity and is believed to have been shot using a camcorder in a home on Sydney's Northern Beaches.[59]

Karissa Shannon, Playboy Playmate and glamour model, attracted some publicity by confirming in 2010 that she had been involved in sex tapes with Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.[61][62] One sex tape of her and boyfriend actor Sam Jones III was released on DVD by Vivid Entertainment in October 2010 as Karissa Shannon Superstar.[63]

Gene Simmons, In 2008, a video on the Internet surfaced which purported to be Simmons engaging in sexual activity with an unnamed woman.[64] Simmons later stated that the tape was recorded without his consent or knowledge and that his legal team was pursuing legal options including copyright infringement.[65]

Courtney Stodden, reality show contestant, attracted controversy over a sex tape featuring her performing oral sex on her significantly older husband, Doug Hutchison, as well as another solo video. The video was released through Vivid Entertainment. According to Vivid, it is the most successful "self-pleasure video", with $1.2 million netted after 24 hours.[66] Stodden has stated that she intends to donate her $1 million payout to charity.[67]

Verne Troyer: On 25 June 2008, a private home video leaked of Troyer and his former live-in girlfriend, Ranae Shrider, having sex. The video, filmed in 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, and Shrider's hometown of Fort Cobb, Oklahoma,[69] was leaked to the public by Shrider and TMZ.[70] Kevin Blatt, the man responsible for brokering the deal for Paris Hilton's sex tape in 2003, tried to sell the video. Troyer, through his long-time attorney, Ed McPherson, sued TMZ, Blatt, and online rental company SugarDVD, for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement.[citation needed]

Usher: In 2010, Usher's car was broken into and two laptops, two video cameras, and jewelry were stolen. One of the laptops contained a sex tape of Usher and his ex-wife Tameka Raymond, although most of it was destroyed.[71][72] Raymond has confirmed that the tape is real in legal documents.[73]

Severina Vučković: In 2004, the Croatian singer was involved in an internationally reported sex scandal after a video featuring her and Bosnian Croat businessman Milan Lučić leaked onto the Internet, which was reported by the Croatian online tabloid Index.hr. Vučković had earlier opposed premarital sex in her public appearances and was claimed to be a practicing Roman Catholic.[74] Vučković sued the website that released the tape for damages, claiming that the video was stolen from her and that it was her intellectual property,[75][76] but her lawsuit was later dismissed by a Zagreb district court in July 2004.[77][78]

^Hinant, Cindy (2015). Deskins, Sally, ed. Les Femmes Folles: The Women. Omaha: Les Femmes Folles. p. 6. ...investigates the reality star Farrah Abraham who dabbles in acting, writing, singing, and cooking, but is best known for appearing in the MTV reality series Teen Mom and then scandalously starring in the pornographic video Backdoor Teen Mom produced by Vivid Entertainment. Abraham participates in a phenomenon that I refer to as “the aesthetics of violation” which is evident in media genres such as celebrity sex tapes and upskirt photography wherein a significant part of the appeal is that the images may have been produced or released without permission of the women involved.